Date of Award
1-1-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Dennis Bunch
Second Advisor
Richard Balkin
Third Advisor
Jill Cabrera
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
The demographic of public schools in America is continuously changing. According to the United States Department of Education (USDE), the English learner population increased in over 25 states from the 2009-2010 school year to the 2014-2015 school year (USDE, 2017). In 2014-15, there were more than 4,800,000 English learners enrolled in schools, accounting for 10% of the total student population (USDE, 2017). With this shifting demographic, educators must be prepared to meet the needs of EL students.
The purpose of this study is to examine educators and instructional leaders’ perceptions of EL instructional support and to highlight the need for EL professional development opportunities in Mississippi. Participants were invited to participate in the study through Mississippi’s teacher associations—Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE) and Mississippi Professional Educators (MPE)—and its school leader organization, Mississippi Association of School Administrators (MASA). A quantitative approach was utilized to analyze the data gathered to address the researcher’s proposed questions:
1. What are participants’ perceptions of EL support and preservice training?
2. Does a statistically significant difference exist between instructional leaders’ perceptions of EL support provided and educators’ perceptions of the level of EL support received?
3. Does a statistically significant difference exist between educators’ EL preservice training and educators’ perception of EL support received from instructional leaders?
The findings suggest (1) teachers believe there is much room for improvement regarding EL support while leaders believe they are providing sufficient EL support overall; (2) statistically significant differences between the perceptions of EL support of teacher participants and leader participants were evident at the item-level, and (3) there was a statistically significant difference between educators’ EL preservice training and educators’ perceptions of EL support received from instructional leaders.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, LaDonna, "PERCEPTIONS OF ENGLISH LEARNER SUPPORT PROVIDED BY K-12 LEADERS TO EDUCATORS IN MISSISSIPPI" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2280.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2280